UniBeast: Install OS X Mavericks on Any Supported Intel-based PC

The following guide is a complete walkthrough to installing or updating to the latest version of OS X. It requires no experience and all of the necessary installation and post-installation tools are available on tonymacx86.com.

UniBeast is a tool that creates a bootable installer out of your downloaded version of OS X. In order to start fresh, you'll need access to a functional computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later. This is a requirement, as you need access to the Mac App Store to download OS X and create the installation drive. To start from scratch, booting the 10.6 Snow Leopard Retail DVD directly, check out iBoot + MultiBeast.

1. Register here at tonymacx86.com. If you don't have a user account, create one!
2. Get our latest MultiBeast and UniBeast tools from the downloads section.
3. Purchase a 8GB or larger USB drive.

STEP 1: Download OS X Mavericks

The full operating system is a free download for anyone who has purchased Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion. Download the Application from the Mac App Store using your Apple ID on any Mac or functional computer running Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.

14. If using a Socket 1156 system without Rate Matching Hub (RMH) USB choose Legacy USB Support
15. If using a laptop, choose Laptop Support
16. Click Continue
17. Enter password and click Install

UniBeast will now create the bootable USB drive. The process will only take about 10-15 minutes, depending on system and drive speed, but will show hours. This is normal. Do not unplug or stop during this time.

18. Drag MultiBeast to your completed USB drive.

STEP 3: Recommended UEFI Settings

If you're installing on a recommended CustoMac desktop with AMI UEFI, the options are simple. For other systems make sure to set your BIOS or UEFI to Optimized Defaults, and your hard drive to AHCI mode. Award BIOS settings are listed here.

1. To access BIOS/UEFI Setup, press and hold Delete on a USB Keyboard while the system is booting up
2. Set to Optimized Defaults.
3. (Optional) Set X.M.P. Memory Profile to Profile1
4. If your CPU supports VT-d, disable it
5. Save and exit.

For best results with the latest 8-series motherboards and Haswell CPUs, remove all but 1 stick of RAM for the installation process. You can put back extra RAM sticks after post-installation is finished.

STEP 4: Install OS X Mavericks

You're almost done! All you need to do is boot from the USB drive and install!

If you have trouble reaching the installer, type -x at the Boot screen as shown below. You can type the boot flags GraphicsEnabler=Yes, maxmem=4096, PCIRootUID=1, PCIRootUID=0, and npci=0x2000 by themselves or together in order to solve boot issues for older graphics cards and machines. Type -v to bypass the Apple boot screen and enter verbose startup mode. For further explanations of boot flags, check out the post here. Also, if you need help with what to use for your graphics card, see the post here.

5. When you arrive at the Installer, choose language.

6. For a new installation of OS X, you MUST erase and format the destination drive according to the following steps before continuing. If you are upgrading from Snow Leopard, Lion, or Mountain Lion and you want to keep your files and apps, skip steps a-j.

7. When the installer asks you where to install, choose Mavericks, or your existing install.
8. Upon completion, restart the system.

STEP 5: Post-Installation Using MultiBeast

MultiBeast is an all-in-one post-installation tool designed to enable boot from hard drive, and install support for Audio, Network, and Graphics. In addition it includes System Utilities to repair permissions and a collection of drivers and config files. The installation is complete, but the drive isn't bootable yet. Boot from the USB again, this time choosing Mavericks.

10. Click Print or Save to back up your configuration
11. Click Build then Install

12. Restart computer to complete installation

Yay! You now have a fully updated bootable version of OS X Mavericks on your CustoMac! And a super handy USB rescue drive. It's easy to get frustrated, but don't give up! If you get stuck, there are many users with similar hardware in the tonymacx86 Forum to provide support. Special thanks to everyone in the community, and our moderators for testing!

If you've had success using this guide, consider a contribution to help keep the sites going. We're constantly updating and tweaking our tools to help you. Good luck and have fun!